May 22, (THEWILL) — The ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), has concluded governorship primaries in most states ahead of the 2027 general elections, with incumbent governors and prominent political figures dominating the contests through consensus arrangements, affirmation votes and landslide victories.
The exercises, which were conducted across 28 states, produced a blend of returning governors, former ministers and influential party figures as candidates, while primaries in a few states were either postponed or awaiting final collation as of press time.
Among the most notable outcomes was the emergence of Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, who secured a commanding victory after polling 657,917 votes to defeat Lanre Kamal, who managed one vote in the contest.
In Kaduna State, Governor Uba Sani clinched the APC ticket with 459,393 votes, while Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, secured victory with 345,375 votes in the primary election.
Rivers State also produced a major political development as Ogundu Kingsley Chinda emerged as the APC governorship candidate after polling 268,497 votes. Chinda had emerged as the party’s consensus candidate following the withdrawal of three aspirants, including Governor Siminalayi Fubara, from the race.
In Gombe State, Jamilu Gwamna defeated former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, and former Minister of Transportation, Saidu Ahmed Alkali, in one of the fiercest contests of the primaries. Gwamna polled 247,161 votes, while Pantami scored 12,120 votes and Alkali secured 11,612 votes.
Several governors secured their tickets through consensus arrangements. They include Governors Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Bassey Otu of Cross River, Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi, Peter Mbah of Enugu, Umar Namadi of Jigawa, Dikko Radda of Katsina, Nasir Idris of Kebbi, Umaru Bago of Niger, Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara.
Borno State produced Mustapha Gubio through consensus, while Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, also emerged through consensus. Ogun State Senator, Solomon Adeola, secured the APC ticket after polling 304,055 votes to defeat Abayomi Hunye, who failed to record any vote.
In Abia State, Eric Opah emerged victorious with 126,977 votes, defeating Henry Ikoh, who polled 5,905 votes.
Meanwhile, primaries in Bauchi, Kwara and Nasarawa states were postponed and scheduled to continue on Friday, while final results were still being awaited in Adamawa and Oyo states. In Benue, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe states, leading contenders were widely expected to emerge victorious upon completion of the exercises.
The APC did not conduct governorship primaries in Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun states due to their off-cycle election calendars.
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